The PSA Golden Week Weekly Research Round-Up Covering 1~12 May

Weekly Comment Summary
Sales for listed Japan have shown double-digit growth for seven quarters. The question, now, is whether profits will start to follow suit. Pelham Smithers weighs the chances.

PSA Company Visits, Tours and Interviews
Visited: JSR (4185 JT)
Conference Calls with: Nidec (6594 JT)
Presentations at: Asahi Kasei (3407 JT), Hoya (7741 JT), KH Neochem (4189 JT), Fujifilm Holdings (4901 JT), Teijin (3401 JT), Sumco (3436 JT), Dexerials (4980 JT), Nissha (7915 JT), Nippon Sanso Holdings (4091 JT), Kuraray (3405 JT), Toray (3402 JT), Mitsui Chemicals (4183 JT), Tosoh (4042 JT), Kaneka (4118 JT) UBE Corp (4208 JT), Mitsubishi Chemical Group (4188 JT), Nissan Motor (7201 JT), Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT), Rakuten (4755 JT)

PSA in the Press
PSA’s Autos / Mobility analyst Julie Boote’s comments appear in this Wall Street Journal article on Toyota’s EV strategy. /articles/toyotas-hybridized-ev-strategy-is-expensive-e9a62667?mod=business_major_pos11

PSA Weekly Contents at a Glance
Reports / Flash Notes Summaries
1. Sony (6758 JT): Double-Digit OP Growth Set to Resume in FY24
2. Mazda (7261 JT): Successful Turnaround, but Medium-Term Challenges
3. Z Holdings (4689 JT) – Feeling a Sense of Urgency Again
Company / Sector / Thematic Comments
Technology: Consumer Electronics, Gaming
1. Nintendo (7974 JT) FY22 Q4 OP -22% YoY
2. Sharp (6753 JT) Hints as FY24 Switch 2
3. Bandai Namco (7832 JT): A Technical Miss for FY22 OP, but Possibilities for Further Growth in FY23
4. Capcom (9697 JT) FY23 OPe +10%
5. Colopl (3668 JT): FY23 Q2 OP +37%
6. Konami (9766 JT): 4Q OP -39% YoY, Weaker than Expected FY23 OPe
7. Panasonic (6752 JT) Forecasts Sharp Rise in FY23 OP
8. Square Enix’s (9684 JT) FY23 Forecast Falls Well Short of Consensus
9. Other Consumer Elec / Gaming News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Technology: Industrial Electronics / Components / Semis & SPE / Precision
10. Japan’s Semi-Related Stocks Rise on Upbeat Results from US Counterparts
11. Why the Semiconductor Sector’s Outlook is Complicated – Revisited
12. March Camera Shipments +37% YoY
13. Ibiden (4062 JT): FY22 Q4 OP -32% YoY
14. Ricoh (7752 JT), Brother (6448 JT) FY22 Q4 OPs Fall Short, but Brother Positive on FY23
15. Hoya’s (7741 JT) FY22 Resilient Q4
16. Rohm (6963 JT), Taiyo Yuden (6976 JT) Both Forecast FY23 OP to Fall
17. Fujifilm Guides for Record Profits, Announces Acquisition
18. Konica Minolta (4902 JT) Slashes its FY23 OP Guidance, Cuts Dividend
19. Nikon (7731 JT): FY22 4Q OP +44%, but Below Consensus, FY23e in Line
20. Other Tech-Related News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Chemicals / Materials
21. FY23 Q1 Results at KH Neochem (4189 JT) Disappointed
22. Glum Guidance Given by Technology Supply Chain Companies
23. Other Chemical / Material-Related News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Autos / New Mobility
24. Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT) FY23 Profit Guidance Below Estimates
25. Toyota (7203 JT) Delivers Strong FY22 Q4 Results / Upbeat FY23e
26. Subaru (7270 JT): FY22 Q4 / FY23e OP Both Short of Guidance / Consensus
27. Honda (7267 JT): FY22 Q4 OP Below Estimates / FY23e Above Consensus
28. A Very Upbeat FY23 Guidance from Nissan (7201 JT)
29. Mazda (7261 JT) FY23 Guidance Beats Estimates
Auto Parts / Machinery
30. Komatsu (6301 JT) FY23 OP Guidance Looks Conservative
31. Nabtesco (6268 JT): Is the Weak Robot Gear Performance in the Price?
32. Daikin (6367 JT) Preview / Nikkei Asia Gives Positive Write-up / Results
33. Fujikura (5803 JT) Weak H1 FY23e But Dividend Yield Raised to 5%
Internet / eCommerce
34. ZHDs (4689 JT) PayPay to Stop Accepting Outside Credit Cards
35. BASE Inc (4477 JT): Op-Losses for FY23 Q1 Smaller than Consensus
36. Nexon’s (3659 JT) FY23 Q1 Earnings Beat
37. GMO Financial Gate (4051 JT) Sold Off Despite Upward Revision
38. Trend Micro (4704 JT) Sold Off on Concerns over Slowdown in Cloud Security Spending
39. Rakuten (4755 JT) / KDDI (9433 JT) Roaming Agreement
40. Other Internet / eCommerce News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Enterprise Software / IT Services
41. TIS (3626 JT) Sails Past FY22 Street Estimates
42. SRE Holdings (2980 JT) Beats Recently Hiked FY22 Sales Forecast
43. ExaWizards (4259 JT) FY23 Sales Growth Forecast Muted
44. NTT Data (9613 JT) Trounces FY22 Consensus Estimates
45. Other ERP Software / IT Services News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Telecom
46. SoftBank Group (9984 JT) Sold on as it Reports a Net Loss in FY22 Q4
Pharma
47. Astellas (4503 JT) to Buy Iveric Bio (ISEE US) for US$5.8bil
48. Other Pharma News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
Miscellaneous / Market / Strategy / Macro
49. Foreign Buying Up for Sixth Consecutive Week
50. US / China Macro Data Lacking Guidance
51. Other News & Moves That Caught Our Eye
List of PSA Published Reports Since January 2023